"David, thank you so much for taking us out." Jason was beaming from ear to ear as he and Laura took pictures with their catch. He had landed a 412 pound Blue Marlin, while Laura was excited with her 120 pound cobia, landing her the new state record. She watched as the crew hurried to unload the countless tuna and dolphin they had caught as well.
"My pleasure Jason, I had just as much fun."
Laura was talking with one of the gentleman about how much fish they would like to keep, and the rest could be sold off. She wasn't paying much attention to the two men. She had been trying to concentrate on the fishing with her father and not so much on David. But as the hours out on the water went by, David and her father had joked and laughed and looked every bit of the closest of friends.
Why wouldn't they? The men were similar in age and had the same interests. With a glance over, Laura groaned seeing them laugh and smack each other on the shoulders. Her father made his way over to her.
"That's my little girl, taking care of the necessities. David is having the taxidermist come claim the marlin and cobia. I'm gonna have them mounted."
"Daddy, that's expensive."
"It's taken care of sweetie. This is a special moment and I want that big fish on my wall to remember it."
She just laughed at him as he pulled her into a hug.
David was watching from his place on the boat. The thought went though his mind that he was a sick ass. A relationship with Laura shouldn't have been sexual, it should have been fatherly. When she had first come to him she was so scared about the gas leak. He had been angry that she could have been seriously hurt or even killed. It was the natural reaction for a man his age over such a young girl. It had been a fatherly reaction. When had he seen her as such a beautiful sexual being? When had he decided to cross the line and have her?
"Thank you David." He hadn't even noticed her walk up. She had that bright wonderful smile. "We had a great time. Thank you so very much."
He was just as shocked when she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.
He just put a hand on her back and hugged her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Anytime baby girl, I am glad you caught that record. Watching you bring it in was amazing." He laughed, "and that record will stand on my boat as well."
She started laughing, "oh! Feeding off my buffet huh?"
She hadn't let go of her hug, still keeping her arms around him just looking up as she joked with David. Again Jason saw the closeness between the two and it was slightly unsettling. He was trying to put the pieces together. He had learned some about Laura's weeks here and about David and the boy he had met earlier, Jesse. Of course, his daughter had left out many details, but he was filling in some of the pieces.
The younger guy Jesse wanted Laura, but Jason could see that while she obviously was attracted to him, she was not warm and affectionate with Jesse. Now, to see her with David, it was extremely affectionate, but Jason couldn't determine if it was friendly or much more than that. His temper was rising slightly to see his daughter hold on to the older man. He wondered if they had been intimate. What sicko would have a sexual relationship with a woman more than half his age?!
He strode over quickly and took Laura's arm, forcing a smile as he coaxed her out of David's arms; suddenly sorry he had agreed that he and Laura would join him for dinner.
"We should head back to the house Laura. David invited us over for dinner."
Once again Laura was hit with a flare of anger. David was continually putting her in an awkward position with her father. And she could pick up on her father's reaction; she could see he was questioning their relationship.
As they made their way to the house, the ride was quiet with unasked questions and puzzling thoughts. Laura took a deep breath and released it slowly.
"Dad, I...."
"I wont ask, and don't really want to know, Laura. You are a grown woman, and can make your own choices. Your happiness is all I care about. Both guys seem very nice and genuinely care about you."
The whole statement was forced. The truth was Jason cared greatly about what was going on and what she was thinking, but the thought of her telling him she was in love with or had an intimate relationship with David made his stomach turn. What was funny was that had Laura not been his daughter, he would have been extremely jealous of David. But since it was his daughter, he just thought the man a sick bastard.
"Dad, I am coming home in a few days. I wont continue a relationship with anyone long distance, or right now for that matter. Finishing my degree is the only thing on my mind right now."
"Well I am glad you have your priorities straight."
Her phone rang and she answered it without looking. She should have checked because it was Jesse. He asked about the fishing trip. In usual fashion on the island he knew who they had gone out with. Jesse wanted to talk. He wanted to know where he stood.
"I cant right now, Jesse. And Dad made plans for us to eat dinner with David. Can I see you tomorrow?"
"That's fine." He hung up and from his response she knew he was hurt.
It only made her angry. It hadn't been her decision to go out on 'Envious.' Her jaw clenched; she was growing quite tired of being the hot potato between the two men.
"I take it Jesse was none to happy?"
"Dad don't, please."
Jason just shrugged. There was no point. He and his daughter had always been close, closer than most fathers and daughters, but it was on her doing. She would talk to him or tell him when she was ready, and no questions or prying would bring it about sooner.
They took showers and Laura got some of her leftovers out to try and clean out the fridge. Jason came out of the bedroom cussing.
"I will need to leave first thing in the morning. There are some issues with the estate settlement. I just don't understand how complicated this is turning out to be."
Laura sighed; she should have been the one handling all of this for him. Jason saw the look on her face. He knew what she was thinking.
"No way in hell sweetie. You will have to deal with all of it when I die. I wouldn't force you to go through it twice." He laughed.
She kissed his cheek and rubbed his back. "We should head over, Daddy."
Laura's eyes went wide when they walked over, the familiar red Camero was parked in David's drive. Jason shot her a look, but Laura said nothing.
Upstairs they found David and Maria both in the kitchen, a glass of wine sat waiting on Laura.
"Jason, I didn't know what you would prefer to drink."
